State v. Carpenter, Wd-07-042 (8-8-2008)
State v. Carpenter, Wd-07-042 (8-8-2008)
Opinion of the Court
{¶ 2} "Assignment of Error 1: The trial court committed an error of law by overruling appellant's motion to withdraw [his] guilty plea. *Page 2
{¶ 3} "Assignment of Error 2: Appellant's
{¶ 4} "Assignment of Error 3: Appellant's
{¶ 5} The relevant facts are as follows. In May 1981, following a jury trial, appellant was convicted on two charges of aggravated burglary, one count of aggravated robbery, and one count of gross sexual imposition. Appellant was sentenced to a prison term of 14 to 50 years; however, he was released from prison in 1994, after serving 13 years. Later that year, appellant was convicted on a separate charge of aggravated robbery, and was sentenced to serve 10 to 25 years in prison. Appellant was released from prison in 2005, after serving 11 years of his second sentence.
{¶ 6} Prior to appellant's second release on parole, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction recommended a sexual offender classification hearing pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 7} At the time of his second release from prison, appellant resided in Lucas County. However, appellant soon began taking classes at Owens Community College in Rossford, Wood County, Ohio. On March 16, 2006, the Wood County Grand Jury indicted appellant on one count of failure to register as a sex offender in a county where he attends an institution of higher learning, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 8} Initially, appellant pled not guilty to the charge in Wood County. However, appellant withdrew his not guilty plea and agreed to plead guilty to one count of failure to register, in violation of R.C.
{¶ 9} On November 7, 2006, the trial court issued a judgment entry in which it found, after reviewing the evidence presented at appellant's sentencing hearing, the presentence investigation report and victims' impact statements, that appellant was not amenable to community control. Appellant was ordered to serve a six month prison sentence and pay the costs of prosecution.
{¶ 10} On March 1, 2007, appellant was summoned before the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, where he was charged with violating his parole in Lucas County, by failing to *Page 4 register as a sex offender in Wood County. As a result of those proceedings, appellant was sentenced to an additional nine months in prison, to be served consecutively with the six month sentence imposed by the trial court in Wood County.
{¶ 11} On May 31, 2007, appellant, acting pro se, filed a post-sentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea in the Wood County Court of Common Pleas. In his motion appellant asserted that he, his appointed counsel, and the trial court all "erroneously thought that the offense was probationable" when, in fact, it was not. Appellant also argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because, if he had known he would not receive "probation" for the offense, he would not have entered a guilty plea. Appellant further argued that R.C.
{¶ 12} On June 29, 2007, the trial court filed a judgment entry in which it found that appellant's plea was knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made. Accordingly, the trial court denied appellant's motion to withdraw his plea. The trial court did not address appellant's claim that he was exempt from registering as a sex offender in Wood County. A timely notice of appeal was filed on July 20, 2007.
{¶ 13} In his first and third assignments of error, appellant asserts that the trial court erred by denying the motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In his first assignment of error, appellant asserts that he is not required to register as a sex offender in *Page 5
Wood County pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 14} Withdrawal of a guilty plea is governed by Crim. R. 32.1 which states that:
{¶ 15} "A motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or no contest may be made only before sentence is imposed; but to correct manifest injustice the court after sentence may set aside the judgment of conviction and permit the defendant to withdraw his or her plea."
{¶ 16} The Supreme Court of Ohio has held that "a defendant seeking to withdraw a plea of guilty after sentence has the burden of establishing the existence of manifest injustice. United States v. Mainer (C.A. 3, 1967),
{¶ 17} The version of R.C.
{¶ 18} "(A)(1) Each of the following types of offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to, or has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to, a sexually oriented offense that is not a registration-exempt sexually oriented offense * * * shall register personally with the sheriff of the county immediately upon coming into a county in which the offender attends a school or institution of higher education on a full-time or part-time basis regardless of whether the offender resides or has temporary domicile in this state or another state, shall register personally with the sheriff of the county in which the offender is employed if the offender resides or has a temporary domicile in this state and has been employed in that county for more than fourteen days or for an aggregate period of thirty or more days in that calendar year, * * *:
{¶ 19} "(a) Regardless of when the sexually oriented offense was committed, an offender who is sentenced for the sexually oriented offense to a prison term, a term of imprisonment, or any other type of confinement and, on or after July 1, 1997, is released in any manner from the prison term, term of imprisonment, or confinement;
{¶ 20} "(b) Regardless of when the sexually oriented offense was committed, an offender who is sentenced for a sexually oriented offense on or after July 1, 1997, and to whom division (A)(1)(a) of this section does not apply; *Page 7
{¶ 21} "(c) If the sexually oriented offense was committed prior to July 1, 1997, and neither division (A)(1)(a) nor division (A)(1)(b) of this section applies, an offender who, immediately prior to July 1, 1997, was a habitual sex offender who was required to register under Chapter
{¶ 22} In State v. Bellman (1999),
{¶ 23} Although the record does not contain the order requiring appellant to register as a sex offender, it is undisputed that the order did not originate in Wood County. It is further undisputed that the original order requiring appellant to register as a sexual predator in Lucas County, to date, has not been challenged either on direct appeal on in postconviction proceedings. While that order may be subject to challenge in Lucas County1, appellant's guilty plea in Wood County was entered based on a valid order *Page 8
requiring him to register as a sexual predator pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 24} On consideration of the foregoing, we find that the record does not demonstrate either the existence of manifest injustice or a denial of due process resulting from the trial court's denial of appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea in the Wood County case. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to vacate appellant's guilty plea in that case. Appellant's first and third assignments of error are not well-taken.
{¶ 25} In his second assignment of error, appellant asserts that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. In support, appellant argues that he would not have entered a guilty plea in the Wood County case if appointed defense counsel had told him he was exempt from registration as a sexual predator.
{¶ 26} In Strickland v. Washington (1984),
{¶ 27} As set forth in our disposition of appellant's first and third assignments of error, appellant's guilty plea was based on a valid order requiring him to register as a sexual predator pursuant to R.C.
{¶ 28} The judgment of the Wood County Court of Common Pleas is affirmed. Appellant is ordered to pay the costs of this appeal pursuant to App. R. 24. Judgment for the clerk's expense incurred in preparation of the record, fees allowed by law, and the fee for filing the appeal is awarded to Wood County.
*Page 10JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
A certified copy of this entry shall constitute the mandate pursuant to App. R. 27. See, also, 6th Dist. Loc. App. R. 4.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.